Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitality North American Volunteers Public Association of the Christian Faithful and First Hospitality of the Americas

www.LourdesVolunteers.org Info@LourdesVolunteers.org

(315) 476-0026 FAX (419) 730-4540

Jesus Christ lovingly sacrificed Himself for the salvation of humanity.

Through Baptism, we are freed from the Original Sin of disobedience

inherited from Adam and Eve. With our gift of free will we can choose

to sin, personally separating ourselves from God. Although we can be

completely forgiven, temporal (temporary) consequences of sin remain.

Indulgences are special graces that can rid us of temporal punishment.

What is a plenary indulgence? “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment

due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.” (CCC 1471) There

are two types of indulgences: plenary and partial. A plenary indulgence

removes all of the temporal punishment due to sin; a partial indulgence

removes some but not all of the temporal punishment.

Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitality North American Volunteers, LTD.

In Honor of the Tenth Anniversary Founding of OUR LADY OF LOURDES HOSPITALITY

NORTH AMERICAN VOLUNTEERS

Pope Benedict XVI has granted by Apostolic Decree

a Plenary Indulgence

for faithful making pilgrimage to Lourdes or experiencing Lourdes in a Virtual Pilgrimage

with North American Lourdes Volunteers

by fulfilling the usual norms and conditions between July 16, 2012 to July 15, 2013.

PAENITENTIARIA

APOSTOLICA

Pope Benedict XVI Proclaims

Lourdes Volunteers 10th Jubilee

Plenary Indulgence

What is temporal punishment for sin?

Temporal punishment for sin is the sanctification from attachment to sin,

the purification to holiness needed for us to be able to enter Heaven.

Imagine a child disobeys his father by playing ball in the house. In the

excitement, a window is broken. The father discovers the shattered glass

and is disappointed; their relationship is damaged. The child is sorry,

apologizes and is completely forgiven. Although their relationship is

restored, the window remains broken, a reality of accountability for the

damage and that reparation is still needed.

Our actions assume liabilities and consequences. We must consider a

root cause to our unholy behaviors. What unhealthy attachment within

us (i.e., “thrill seeking” to play ball) led us toward sin?

Each time we sin we strengthen an unhealthy behavior,

a consequence of sin that is spiritually damaging and

distances us from God. Not only must we be repentant

and forgiven thru the Sacrament of Reconciliation for

our wrong doing, but we must be completely rid of the

wrongful attachment within us that led us toward sin.

We must be totally detached from anything unholy.

Our relationship with God is much the same as the child and father with

the broken window. We can be forgiven and our relationship with God

restored through a Sacramental Confession, yet we still must also make

reparation for the damages. Satisfaction for the reparation (temporal

punishment) can be fulfilled in this life or afterward, in Purgatory. How can I be rid of temporal punishments of sin?

Indulgences are special graces that can rid us of temporal punishment.

To enter into Heaven, we must be completely

purified of all temporal punishments of sin.

Practicing good works of mercy and charity

(such as volunteer service in Lourdes), as

well as living a life of prayer and penance

(as the Mother of God requested in Lourdes),

can help us to live a holy life and to be rid of

the temporal punishment due for our sins.

Satisfaction of reparation for sin can also be

obtained through Indulgences by performing

the required acts and fulfilling the conditions.

How can the Church give indulgences?

The Church is able to grant indulgences by

exercising her authority to bind and to loose

on earth as granted to her by Jesus Christ

Himself. (Matthew 18:18)

Drawing from her Treasury consisting of the

merits of Christ, the Mother of God and the

Saints, the Church can graciously grant an

indulgence (fix the broken window) on behalf

of a Catholic for their temporal punishment.

The Church does not offer indulgences as an “easy fix” in lieu of just

punishment, but as a generous gift which urges faithful to perform

works of piety, penance and charity in an effort to detach from sin,

grow in faith and promote holiness benefiting the common good of all.

How can a I gain this plenary indulgence?

Any baptized Catholic is eligible for indulgences formally decreed by

the Church. Indulgences have a specific act as well as conditions that

must be performed to acquire the indulgence. The usual conditions are:

A Sacramental Confession with a Catholic priest;

Reception of the Holy Eucharist;

Prayers for the Pope (Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be);

A heart and mind free from all attachment to sin.

It is recommended that these conditions be met on the same day or at

the same time of the act. If the disposition is less than complete in any

way or if the conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence is only partial.

To acquire the plenary indulgence in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes

Hospitality North American Volunteers 10th Anniversary Founding

Jubilee Year between July 16, 2012 and July 15, 2013, along with the

above stated usual conditions, a person must:

Join Lourdes Volunteers on pilgrimage to Lourdes, or

Experience a Virtual Pilgrimage with Lourdes Volunteers.

Can I give my indulgence to someone else?

Besides offering an indulgence for ourselves, we can also offer up an

indulgence for someone who has died as a way of interceding for them

in Purgatory. We cannot offer an indulgence for someone who is living.

For information, please refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,

Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum Doctrina or visit our website.